


The Great Shadow Switch

by ptw30



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, Kagami might put Kuroko in Boston crab hold, best bros, light/shadow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 09:52:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3724480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ptw30/pseuds/ptw30
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something's wrong with Kuroko; Kagami's sure of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Great Shadow Switch

**Author's Note:**

> I just love the light/shadow dynamics, and I can so see Takao and Kuroko getting into some mischief.

Kagami might be an idiot, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew something was wrong with Kuroko the moment he walked downstairs that morning, and his shadow wasn’t waiting for him. At school, Kuroko sat with his head down on his desk most of the day, seemingly hiding behind Kagami’s larger frame. When Kagami bugged him about his unusual silence—which really wasn’t unusual but kinda was—Kuroko muttered an apology and shuffled away. 

At lunch, Kagami brought up his concerns to Kiyoshi and Hyuga, who seemed to shrug off his concerns with a sideway glance at Kuroko, the oblivious object of their attention sedately sipping his milkshake. 

“He looks fine to me,” Hyuga replied. 

“Hmmm…he looks a little pale,” Kiyoshi offered, rubbing his chin. 

“He’s always pale!”

“Ooh. Then maybe he should drink a different type of milkshake.”

“That wouldn’t change anything!” 

Kiyoshi clapped Kagami on the shoulder. “We’ll notice if something’s wrong at practice.”

But no one seemed to notice there, either, but Kagami did. Kuroko’s passes were weak, almost half their usual force, but they were spot-on like always, even if Kuroko’s placement on the court was awkward. And he even took on Izuki one-on-one—and won. That was the last straw. 

Kagami slapped his entire hand on Kuroko’s head like he was palming a ball, and that’s when he noticed it. 

Kuroko had grown—a lot. A few inches overnight at least, and that was impossible, right? It had to be. 

But then Kuroko fell over, seemingly passing out from exhaustion, and Kagami’s previous worry was replaced by the new one. 

Of course, Coach and the senpais put him in charge of taking Kuroko home, and leaning heavily on Kagami’s side—Kuroko put on a few pounds—his best friend muttered something about a milkshake. So they detoured to Maji Burger, and that’s when everything went to hell. 

Kuroko looked longingly at Kagami’s mountain of burgers. Kuroko never looked directly at them, like he was afraid he’d die in a burger-lanche, so whoever this person was, he wasn’t Kuroko.

“Okay, enough. Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” Kagami growled, standing up to show his full strength. And sure, it didn’t intimidate Kuroko in the least, but whoever this imposter was, he’d quake in his white and blue sneakers. 

Instead, he didn’t. The imposter first laughed, a loud, obnoxious sound that was all too familiar, and Kagami reached out, fisted his hand in the person’s shirt and lifting him from his seat in one tug. 

“Takao!”

Those blue eyes looked up at him—those gray-blue with narrowed pupils, not those huge ones filled with wonderment and tenderness like he was used to seeing. 

“What the hell!”

“It was all your shadow’s idea!” Takao managed through his dying chuckles. “Blame him!”

Kagami scowled. “Wha—What are you talking about? Where’s—”

Wait, _his_ shadow? If Midorima’s shadow was here, with Kagami, that meant his shadow was with—Kagami smacked his own forehead, and then without even eating his burgers, he dragged Takao from the restaurant. 

After a too long bus ride of complaints and whines and pleas—to be free of Takao’s jokes—they were almost as bad as Izuki’s—Kagami dragged Takao into Shutoku High’s gym. The practice continued even this late at night, the first years running through drill after drill on one side of the gym; the second and third years and first string scrimmaged. 

And there he found Kuroko with dyed black hair, playing the part of point guard. 

And he was _good._

When did Kuroko become so awesome with ball handling? He wasn’t as good as Takao, but he could dribble between the legs and even complete a cross-over, which was awesome for Kuroko. When Midorima lined up, Kuroko completed a no-look pass to the already jumping shooting guard, just like Takao had in the Rakuzan game. 

Together, Midorima and Kuroko wiped up the floor of the other team, and it was then Kagami realized they were playing two-on-five. 

Oh, he was not losing his best friend to Shutoku. 

“Hey, Four-Eyes!” Kagami’s voice thundered across the suddenly silent gym. “Give me back my shadow!”

Kuroko whirled toward his voice, those blue eyes seeking his immediately, and Kagami inhaled sharply at the visible relief bright in them. Kuroko…wanted him to find him?

“Sorry, Shin-Chan.” Takao with his dyed blue hair walked across the gym toward the fuming Midorima. “You and I are going to have chauffer the Seirin team in the rickshaw for the next three weeks.”

Midorima resituated his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “First, _you_ would be chauffeuring the Seirin team, not _we_ , and second, you won’t be. I noticed Kuroko took your place this morning in homeroom. While he tries to be invisible, you try harder not to be.”

Takao’s eyes immediately went wide, and Kagami looked between the two shadows, and then at Midorima, dread creeping into the pit of his stomach. “Wait…you bet on which of us would recognize you weren’t…you first? Well, damn. I knew this morning when Kuroko wasn’t waiting for me at my apartment building.”

“Then why did you keep pestering all day? ‘Kuroko, why aren’t you talking to me?’ ‘Kuroko, are you mad me?’ ‘Kuroko, why aren’t we as awesome as Shutoku’s light and shadow?’”

“I never said that!”

“So what do you and Bakagami owe us?” Midorima asked. 

Kagami snarled. “I owe you nothing.”

Black-haired Kuroko bowed. “Sorry, Kagami-kun, but you will be cooking for Midorima-kun and Takao-kun for three weeks.”

“ _Me?_ Why the hell do I have to?”

“Because you didn’t notice I was missing.” His voice sounded flat, not at all judgmental, but hidden inside, Kagami thought he heard hurt. 

“Dinner at Kagami’s house!” Takao cheered, throwing his arm about Kuroko’s shoulders. “Let’s go now! I’m starving! How you survive only on vanilla milkshakes is insane.”

Midorima came without a fuss, which surprised Kagami, and Takao hung off him the entire time, asking over and over again if “Shin-chan” missed him and was he sobbing in his red bean soup all day. Kagami hadn’t noticed at the time, but looking back, Midorima did let out a tiny smile when his eyes found Takao in the gym. 

Dinner was amicable, even fun. Takao and Kuroko washed out their hair dye and traded stories about the day, Kuroko blushing quite a few times when he described how the girls flocked about him during lunch. 

Midorima pushed up his glasses and even let out a quiet chuckle. “You must have attracted them somehow, Kuroko. They never do that to Takao.”

“You’re just jealous, Shin-chan!” Takao leaned off Kuroko’s shoulder. “You want me all to yourself.”

“Maybe if you cooked like Kagami…”

As the evening led to night, they started to leave, but Midorima paused by the doorway. He glanced back at Kuroko, almost with an evil eye, before glancing away. “You should have listened to me and come to Shutoku.”

Kuroko’s smile was gentle, pleasant, and thankful. “You have found your shadow, Midorima-kun, as I have found my light.”

“Hm.” He met Kuroko’s eyes this time and kept the steady gaze. “I…enjoyed today. Very much.”

And Kuroko’s smile grew. “As did I. Let’s play again.”

“Yes. I will let you know when our signs sync up again.”

“Please do so.” 

Takao grabbed Midorima and dragged him through the door. “All right, Invisible Boy. Give me back my light.”

Once they were gone, Kagami saw the achingly tender smile upon Kuroko’s face and grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous fashion. “Uh, Kuroko? I’m…sorry, I didn’t notice you weren’t…you.”

“Thank you, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said with a tiny smile, slipping on his shoes and grabbing his bag. 

“But…I really thought something was wrong, and I even asked Kyioshi-senpai and Captain about you, and I even left my burgers at Maji!”

“You—You—” Kuroko reached up and put a hand upon Kagami’s forehead. “Are you feeling ill?”

“I was worried about you, dumbass!”

“Kagami-kun…” Kuroko stopped him with a breath’s whisper, and his smile reached those fantastic eyes. “I am invisible to most people, but I am not to you. And then you dragged Takao-kun across Tokyo to get me. It is I who should be apologizing to you, for the inconvenience.”

“Yeah, well.” Kagami’s face was hot with embarrassment. “I’d go a lot farther than that for you, but you should stay the night. I can’t have you disappearing to Akita or Kyoto before our next game. Coach will totally blame me and put me in that Boston crab hold.”

And now, the smile reached Kuroko’s lips, and he dropped his bag back by the door. “Thank you, Kagami-kun.”

“Yeah, well…thanks for choosing Seirin…and y’know…me.” 

Kuroko plopped down next to Kagami and ducked his head, but Kagami still saw the faint blush across his cheeks. “I chose Seirin. Kagami-kun just happened to be an added bonus.”

“A bonus? What gives?”

“A very bright bonus.”

“I know how Coach does that crab hold thing. Just saying…” 

The End


End file.
